Sundance in 60 Seconds: Friday, January 29, 2010

Celebrity Sightings: The sightings become slim to none when any festival rounds up, so I'll leave you with just two: First, Kevin Zegers -- the Transamerica star is one of the leads in the stuck-on-a-ski-lift flick Frozen. And second, E!Online pits Naomi Watts and Katie Holmes in a winter fashion showdown.

Deals: Even though the celebs wave sayonara, the money is still changing hands. With the deal silence broken, Variety reports that The Weinstein Co. has grabbed Blue Valentine and is zeroing in on The Tillman Story. And according to Screen Daily, Michael Winterbottom's The Killer Inside Me should get bought soon.
Our Coverage: On Friday we got a new review and interview. First up, Kevin Kelly reviewed Exit Through the Gift Shop and wrote: "this is a film I wouldn't have missed for the world, and it was my favorite documentary at Sundance this year, even if we didn't get a hint as to Banksy's real identity." Kevin also sat down with the Duplass Brothers for a video chat about their Sundance pleaser Cyrus.

It might look like we're slowing down, but there's a slew more on the way -- lead by a nice video chat with Alan Tudyk and Tyler Labine -- you know, the guys from Tucker & Dale vs. Evil, and the men from Firefly/Dollhouse and Repear, respectively.

indieWIRE Love:Sundance Daily continues to round up critical opinion and shares the critics' favorite documentaries. The lucky winners are GasLand, 12th & Delaware, and Smash His Camera. Meanwhile, Eric Kohn reviews Debra Granik's Winter's Bone and writes: "the real success of "Winter's Bone"-even if it seems a bit dry at times-comes from that precise clash of feelings. By its extraordinary final shot, the movie has transcended its plot specifics and attained an emotional realism that validates the unusual slow burn approach."

But it's not all Sundance in Utah this month. There's also that little fest called Slamdance, and indieWIRE offers DISPATCH FROM SLAMDANCE | Against Contrived Road Movies and Meet-Cute Romanticism, and shares the winners of the "Sparky" awards -- Snow and Ashes and American Jihadist.
Tweets, Blogs, and Treats: As I shared above, The Weinstein Company picked up Blue Valentine, which the Los Angeles Times calls "one of the smarter plays" before detailing Harvey and Bob's savvy strategy.

On the other coast, The New York Daily News ponders whether Katie Holmes' career is taking a turn for the better. If it does, will the Tom Cruise as controlling father hen persist?

You know that whole urination scene people keep talking about in The Runaways? Turns out the unnamed band to inspire the Jett retaliation was the band Rush.

And finally, the Dalai Lama sent a "message of peace," during the Music 4 Peace Initiative press conference, and that seems like a good note to wrap up today's roundup with.